Page 19 of Something to Believe In

“Alright, let’s get into it.” Chris claps his hands together. “Macca can you take them for a warmup? I want to talk to Oli.”

I’m really getting sick of this pity shit.I avoid looking him in the eye, scuffing my footy boot in the grass and churning up some of the turf.

He clears his throat. “How are you doing, mate?”

“Yeah… uh… I’m okay. Just looking forward to getting out and playing some good footy this year. Thanks Chris.”

He offers me a small smile. “How’s your mum?”

I shrug. “She seems to be okay. I don’t know. I think she’s just trying to keep it together for us, you know.”

Chris nods. “And your brothers?”

I blink up at him. “They’re fine.”

“It must be hard on all of you, losing him like that. Your dad was a great man. He’s going to be missed around the club.” He glances at the scar above my eye before looking away. “If you guys ever need anything, make sure you say something. Everyone at the club would be happy to help out.”

I swallow. “Thanks.”

“I’m here if you ever need to chat, too. Any time. You’ve got my number. I don’t want you to hesitate to use it.”

I look over to where my teammates are going through the dynamic warm up in the square. “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

“Sure, sure.” He claps me on the shoulder. “Look, I know you’ve got a lot going on but I was thinking, now that Dewey’s gone up to the seniors, we’re in need of a new captain. What do you think?”

My eyes snap back to his. “What? Me?”

He grins. “Yeah. If you feel like you’re up for it? You’ve proven yourself, and I thought it might be good for some of the younger boys to benefit from your leadership both on and off the field. I’ve got no doubt we’ll be losing you at the end of this year to the AFL, so it would be fitting for you to go out as a club captain.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. What do you say?”

“Yeah,” I choke out. “Yeah that’d be great. Thanks Chris.”This is unbelievable!

I can’t wipe the stupid smile off my face as I run out to join the boys for the rest of the warmup. It means a lot that Chris has so much faith in my ability to be a leader out on the field. Not to mention the impact it will have on clubs looking to draft me. If I can prove myself as a good leader, it will improve my draft chances immensely. My chest tightens. Dad would have been so excited. He would have been so proud of me.

“What was that all about?” Macca asks me, breathing hard when we finish our sprints.

“You’re looking at your new captain.” I grin.

“Yeah man? Congrats!” He gives me a fist bump.Maybe things aren’t going to be so bad after all.

9

I’m relieved when Friday finally rolls around. I’ve tried to ignore Sarah and her cronies as much as possible this week by shrugging off the little snide comments they throw my way. My year twelve classes are keeping me busy, and I really need to focus if I want to get the marks I need to get into journalism at Melbourne University.

The best thing to happen this week is Mr Porter telling me I’ve been voted editor of the school magazine. I’ve got so many amazing ideas about what I want the magazine to be. I want to raise the issues that we as teenagers face today and get people talking. I want to remove the stigma of talking about the tough issues, and overall, help my fellow classmates know they’re not alone with what they’re going through. High school can be tough to navigate. I mean, it’s not like I’m getting through unscathed. I’ve allowed Sarah to be horrible to me for over six months now.

I’m deep in thought about everything I need to do, making my way to Mr Porter’s classroom, when I crash into someone coming out of his office next door.

“Ooof.” The wind is knocked out of me and I drop my folder on the ground.

“Are you okay?” the perpetrator asks before gasping. “Oh, shit.”

Looking up from the ground, I sigh as I come face to face with Tiana.

“I’m fine,” I say, bracing myself for the next onslaught of nastiness from Sarah’s friend.

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